(New York, N.Y.) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe and EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck today toured a job training and computer rehabilitation facility run by the nonprofit organization Per Scholas. The tour provided the EPA officials the opportunity to see first-hand how this innovative organization provides technology training and brings low-cost computers to thousands of New Yorkers. The organization provides job training and collects, refurbishes, redistributes, or recycles computers in the New York City area.

“As President Obama has made clear, involving everyone and creating opportunity is the key to an economy that is built to last,” said Deputy Administrator Perciasepe. “By refurbishing computers that might otherwise be discarded and training individuals in skills they otherwise might not acquire, Per Scholas has shown that it’s possible to help build a sustainable economy right here in the Bronx.”

Per Scholas was founded in 1995 as a neighborhood-based effort to increase access to personal computers in the South Bronx—the nation’s poorest Congressional District. Since that time, they have expanded their efforts, and now provide affordable technology to lower-income communities throughout the nation. Per Scholas refurbishes desktop and laptop computers that are then donated or sold at a discounted price. In addition, the organization’s headquarters has become a technology teaching center, providing classes and hands-on lab work to prepare students for various technology certifications.